Cleaning the bathroom – Do’s and Don’ts

When it comes to the areas of the house that you would perhaps prefer not to have to clean, there is usually the bathroom in amongst the perhaps extensive list. Strangely enough it is often the products that we use to clean our bodies that cause dirt in the bathroom, with soap scum and leaked product being the main source of mess, alongside limescale of course. You will no doubt feel like these things are pretty impenetrable, and therefore the job gets left until later, but this will inevitably lead to a situation where the mess is worse, and more difficult to get rid of, and therefore the cleaning is even more difficult! The best way to get over this hurdle is to do a proper clean that you can set aside a little time for, and then keep cleaning the bathroom regularly, as then you will have a lot less work on your hands each time. It is a simple process, and if you can keep it up then the cleaning will not be so much a chore as a quick wipe down every week. A bathroom is particularly important to keep clean, as it is a place where cleaning of the self happens, and feeling like you are washing in a dirty or unpleasant room is not very enjoyable, nor is having a bath and feeling like you are sitting on soap scum, so get on with the cleaning!

Start by finding a decent cream cleaner, and try to make sure that it is not one that contains toxic chemicals. There are plenty of eco friendly cleaners available, but if these are too expensive then look in to natural cleaners, like baking powder, vinegar and lemon. A combination of baking powder and lemon will form a great cream cleaner for your bathroom, so give it a try! Locate the more difficult to clean spots in the bathroom, like the taps, shower head, and the areas that are behind these that are harder to reach. Layer the areas with the cream cleaner, and leave them to do their work. Perhaps even wrap a cloth round the taps to keep the whole unit in contact with the cleaning product. After ten to fifteen minutes or so, you should start scrubbing down the areas that you have applied the cleaner. The cleaner will hopefully have cut through the limescale that is present and you should start to see a shine fairly quickly, but if not, keep going. It may be that you rinse the area down and find that you need to repeat the process, so make sure that you are using a rough sponge to really cut through the tough build up. Do not use a scourer, or you will dull the shine on your taps irreversibly. Do not use a scourer on ceramics either, for the same reason.

You will most likely find that these are the toughest areas of the bathroom, but the rest of the room can be difficult as well. Bleach round the inside of the toilet bowl to kill any bacteria, and clean the rest of the toilet with a rag that you can dispose of. Do not clean anything else with the same cloth! Tiling can be scrubbed with cream cleaner to get them looking fresh and new, and glass surfaces should be gone over with a window cleaner to ensure that everything is sparkling. Mop the floor as the last thing you do, so that you are not having to go over it again and again.